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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. board — a committee
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mine — for digging
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. cold — an illness
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. tube — a container
  19. board — to get on
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. board — a flat piece

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com